Incorporating retail technology into local community retailing, such as at the innovative Eurospar store in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, enhances customer experience and boosts profitability by offering fresh local produce, a range of meal options, and efficient checkout solutions. This tech-led approach provides a competitive advantage by increasing convenience, promoting local products, and improving operational efficiency.
Integrating local community retailing with technology is becoming increasingly important in today’s forecourt landscape.
When done right, retailers can create a more dynamic, engaging and sustainable shopping experience that benefits both businesses and shoppers. This approach attracts shoppers and strengthens customer loyalty, providing a significant competitive advantage and ultimately boosting profitability.
How can forecourt retailers be market leaders and effectively integrate retail technology to benefit their businesses?
One store in Northern Ireland has been reaping the benefits of an innovative retail technology solution.
When Eurospar opened its highly anticipated state-of-the-art flagship store in Ardglass, Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, it focused on not only on its food offer but on becoming the company’s most innovative and tech-led store.
The venue in Co Down, owned by Henderson Retail, reopened after a multi-million-pound investment with a new fresh foods supermarket and forecourt offering Texaco fuel at all grades as well as two ultra-fast and rapid EV charging points from bp pulse, car wash facilities as well as a free ATM.
The addition of a complete retail technology solution provided the Downpatrick supermarket and forecourt with the competitive edge in the local area ultimately helping to boost profitability.
Enhancing the shopper experience
The 6,275sq ft supermarket provides shoppers with a host of options to exceed expectations.
It showcases the best local suppliers Northern Ireland has to offer through its selection of fresh produce, freshly pre-prepared own brand meal ranges and fresh meat and poultry, alongside a huge selection of well-known brands, with over 75% of the fresh produce available in-store sourced locally.
A butchery counter is fully serviced by Devlin’s, the local butchers, while the Delish Made in Store kitchen, a completely new concept for shoppers, provides a fully serviced kitchen where freshly prepared meals and salads are made by two local in-store chefs daily.
The food-to-go hot food deli and fresh bar has teams serving up fresh breakfast and lunch options from cooked breakfasts to filled wraps plus Eurospar’s popular Delish chicken bar with Southern Fried Chicken and chips throughout the day.
The Delish Bakery is headed up by two local bakers, who bake a range of fresh breads from baguettes to sourdough, cakes and pastries fresh every day, plus a range of pancakes, soda and potato bread made fresh on the griddle pan throughout the day.
Mark McCammond, retail director at Henderson Group, says choice, convenience and value can be found at every corner of the store.
“Our flagship store program allows us to challenge our existing store proposition, take more measured risks with innovation and push the boundaries of what we normally do. By doing this we aim to get scale to the proposition for the wider group and so we can continue to be our customers number one choice for food for now and food for later,” he explained.
“Eurospar Downpatrick is a multi-functional site; shoppers call in for fuel and food-to-go, but we also have shoppers taking advantage of our range of everyday essentials and value prices, to do their weekly shop. It is important we invest in facilities to make both trips as efficient as possible.”
Gaining a competitive advantage
In addition to the focus on fresh food, the supermarket has implemented a range of technology innovations from sister company Henderson Technology to help it operate a highly efficient store.
While traditional tills are manned by the customer service staff, the company’s most innovative, tech-led store also has four self-checkouts installed.
It also has an ESELs (Electronic Shelf Label system), and eight lanes of EDGEPoS (all-in-one EPOS system) scanning. All checkouts use the full Glory cash management system, and a full loop system is operated throughout the store.
There are also digital screens in the store located at key points of interest for the customer, offering multiple points of communication on the customers’ path to purchase. These are unlocking a new way for the team to communicate price and promotion, added value messages, local sourcing credentials and fantastic made-in-store products, to shoppers.
“It is important for our shoppers to have the choice between traditionally manned tills for our staff to help them checkout their shopping, alongside the self-checkouts, which have the exclusive Glory cash management system installed, meaning shoppers can use both card and cash, which is an excellent addition to a busy forecourt,” McCammond adds.
“Investing in in-store retail technology makes our store operation efficient, and our customer experience the best it can be. It is really important at a time of rising wage costs and energy increases. In addition, our shoppers also experience a store that is 100% focused on them. We are communicating more effectively; our pricing is accurate all the time with ESELs, and we offer quick and convenient checkout solutions.”
If you would like more information on Henderson Technology
visit www.henderson.technology or email sales@henderson.technology and call 028 9094 1900.
